Hi everyone, I'm the head librarian at a N-8 Jewish day school with a fairly large library. I started a year ago, and came in to find that the collection has been well maintained in terms of acquiring new materials, but poorly handled in terms of weeding old, outdated, or unused items. In anticipation of some spatial changes (and a potential full overhaul) I am currently attacking the nonfiction section.
I tend to have a "less is more" attitude in a school library, where kids have specific tastes and curricular needs and space is always an issue. We do have a decent source of funding for new books, so I know I can update where necessary. But when it comes to items of Jewish interest, I'm torn. What criteria should I be using to determine the fate of books of Jewish literature and history? I am finding shelves full of old, dank books that don't circulate, such as collections of Jewish American literature, or books about Israel from the 1960's. I think I have a good idea of what people are likely to want/need here, and most of these items don't qualify. But I hesitate to purge such a large selection of special interest materials. Is there anywhere else that might be interested in them? Opinions on this issue in general? Any advice is appreciated. Thank you! Aviva Rosenberg Library & Media Specialist [image: The Moriah School] The Moriah School 53 S. Woodland Street Englewood, NJ 07631 201.567.0208 x307 <http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Moriah-School/138116182912660> <http://twitter.com/TheMoriahSchool>
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